If you are looking for one of the best Class 1/2 conferences in the state of the Missouri you would have a hard time finding one better than the KCI.
The league has long been good and in the last five years it has taken things to a new level with almost half the teams either playing for or winning a state title. In fact if you go back 20 years every team has played for or won a state title.
The last few seasons the league has been led by East Buchanan with back-to-back Class 1 championships in 2021-22. Last season saw North Platte play for a state title in Class 1 and in 2020 Mid Buchanan was in the Class 1 championship game.
This year all three should be good again but the rest of the conference isn’t far behind. Lathrop, Lawson, Penney and West Platte combined for 14 wins last season, but all bring back the majority of their starters with lots of experience.
This should be another great year in the KCI. Below are previews and the KCI Virtual Media Day with interviews with every coach.
Head Coach: Daniel Ritter, 5th season
2023 record (overall/conference): 11-1/6-0
Returning Starters (Off/Def): 4/2
Biggest Challenge: A talented senior class that went 39-3 winning two state title is gone but there is another big senior class ready to step in. There is a lot of competition for spots so settling that starting lineup and gaining experience will be key.
Outlook: This group may not have the high-end talent of the state championship teams but there is more depth of talent overall. The Bulldogs will be a good team again with good numbers and depth that should help them compete for all four quarters and through a long season.
Coach’s thoughts: “This group, they don't have an ego. They haven't necessarily done it and they're ready to prove it and I like that about them. We have 20 seniors and these kids most of them I'd say about 15 of them haven't proven themselves on the varsity level. So, they all have something to prove out there and it's pretty cool to see them compete and practice. We're really excited to see what we do against other teams.”
2024 Schedule:
8/31 @ Kansas City Central
9/6 Savannah
9/13 @ Lawson
9/20 North Platte
9/27 @ Lathrop
10/4 @ Penney
10/11 West Platte
10/18 @ Maysville
10/25 Mid Buchanan
Head Coach: Corey Creason, 2nd year
2023 record (overall/conference): 2-8/0-6
Returning Starters (Off/Def): 8/5
Biggest Challenge: The Mules lost eight games but were competitive in most of those losses. The team was young last year so most of those players are back and finishing games will be the focus of the season to turn some of those losses to wins.
Outlook: Lathrop has good tradition and brings back a lot of experience. The Mules could be a team that takes a big step forward if they can use last year’s experience to move the team forward this season.
Coach’s thoughts: “With the experience that we have returning we look for some good things. The message to them has been expectations are higher and we're not lowering the coaches aren't going to lower theirs. They've got to rise up and meet ours because you know that's what good teams do and we're looking to take that jump to where we're considered one of those good teams this year.”
2024 Schedule:
8/30 Lexington
9/7 @ Christ Prep
9/13 @ North Platte
9/20 @ Skyline
9/27 Buchanan
10/4 Mid Buchanan
10/11 @ Penney
10/18 West Platte
10/25 Lawson
Head Coach: Caleb Crawford, 4th season
2023 record (overall/conference): 2-8/2-4
Returning Starters (Off/Def): 9/7
Biggest Challenge: Not only was Lawson very young last year the Cardinals were decimated by injuries during the season. Lawson lost 12 players to season-ending injuries so lots of inexperienced players gained experience. Lawson now needs to turn that depth of knowledge into wins after a good summer of work.
Outlook: The Cardinals are much like the other teams that were in the bottom half of the league last year in that they were young and almost everyone is back. If those players take that natural step forward this could be a fun season in Lawson.
Coach’s thoughts: “I was talking with my assistant coaches about how we're a week ahead of schedule. We really came into the season with you know probably 60 percent of our offense in and about 75 percent of our defense in. Our summer participation was huge. We have 48 kids this year total on our team and 43 of them were there every day in the summer. We got a bunch of football players now and a bunch of kids that want to be there and man it’s a great spot to be in.”
2024 Schedule:
8/30 Warsaw
9/6 @ Lafayette County
9/13 East Buchanan
9/20 @ Penney
9/27 Mid Buchanan
10/4 @ West Platte
10/11 Monroe City
10/18 North Platte
10/25 @ Lathrop
Head Coach: Aaron Fritz, 10th season
2023 record (overall/conference): 8-4/4-2
Returning Starters (Off/Def): 8/8
Biggest Challenge: Mid Buchanan like a few other teams in the conference were very young in 2023. Even with youth the Dragons won eight games. Most of that group is back so what was a good season last year could be a great year this season. High expectations will greet Mid Buchanan when the season starts.
Outlook: The winning tradition that Fritz has started at Mid Buchanan during his team showed through last year when a young team may have outperformed their experience level. This year could be a big one as the Dragons have a lot of things in place to make a deep postseason run.
Coach’s thoughts: “We had a good summer, we really did. Kids showed up and we got after it. You still have to reteach and kind of go back to the basics with some things but you're able to go a little bit quicker and not have to spend as much time as last year. We're just a lot farther along than what we were last year at this time. You go back and watch old practice film or watch old stuff and you're like we're just different. We're bigger, we're stronger and quite frankly almost all our kids can almost get in the car and drive as a permit now. That's a big deal for us. We only had eight kids on the team that could drive last year so just everything is different.”
2024 Schedule:
8/30 @ Cass-Midway
9/6 Lexington
9/13 Centralia, Kan.
9/20 West Platte
9/27 @ Lawson
10/4 @ Lathrop
10/11 @ North Platte
10/18 Penney
10/25 @ East Buchanan
Head Coach: Jared Quigley, 3rd season
2023 record (overall/conference): 12-2/5-1
Returning Starters (Off/Def): 5/5
Biggest Challenge: The Panthers went from breaking a 22-game losing streak to the Class 1 state championship game in the span of 15 months. North Platte lost half of its starters to graduation but the overall numbers are up and there is even more experience in year three of the coaching staff’s systems. Maintaining the momentum is the big task for the Panthers in 2024.
Outlook: When success comes quickly it is sometimes tough to back that up. The Panthers should be set up to avoid a letdown as the programs numbers are up and overall enthusiasm continues to rise in and around the program.
Coach’s thoughts: “Probably one of the best things that I like about year three is some of the kids have been in my system for two years they know it and they're starting to coach other kids. They are out there coaching the freshman up; they're coaching the sophomores up and maybe not even just in scheme but how we do things Cleaning up the locker room or how we run or what we do in film or all these different things. I've start to see upper classmen starting to step into some leadership roles and that's super exciting.”
2024 Schedule:
8/30 Butler
9/6 @ Milan
9/13 Lathrop
9/20 @ East Buchanan
9/27 Penney
10/4 @ South Shelby
10/11 Mid Buchanan
10/18 @ Lawson
10/25 @ West Platte
Head Coach: Alex Lloyd, 4th season
2023 record (overall/conference): 7-5/3-3
Returning Starters (Off/Def): 8/8
Biggest Challenge: With almost every starter back on a 7-win team the challenges won’t necessarily come from within. The big task is navigating the tough KCI along with a non-conference slate that has Lafayette County, Crest Ridge and Trenton.
Outlook: Penney is primed with experience and tradition. The Hornets could have a big season if everything comes together, and the team stays healthy.
Coach’s thoughts: “One thing we're seeing this year you know we got a lot more kids on the roster this year so we're getting young men that excited about playing penny football. Young men whose uncle played here whose dad played here, older brother played here. Or I watched this kid growing up and maybe I'm not related to him but man I idolized him. We’ve got we got freshmen coming in and a lot of those kids already you can tell they've kind of got a relationship with some of our upper classmen because they've looked up to them. They've been there on Friday nights being our water boys.
2024 Schedule:
8/30 Lafayette County
9/6 @ Crest Ridge
9/13 West Platte
9/20 Lawson
9/27 @ North Platte
10/4 @ East Buchanan
10/11 Lathrop
10/18 @ Mid Buchanan
10/25 @ Trenton
Head Coach: Taylor Gallagher, 1st season
2023 record (overall/conference): 3-7/1-5
Returning Starters (Off/Def): 8/8
Biggest Challenge: There is a lot back from a 3-win team in 2023. West Platte has experience and now just has to turn that into more wins.
Outlook: There is a new head coach after Jim Newstead retired in the offseason. The Bluejays didn’t have to look far to find their new one as Gallagher was on staff. That should make the transition smooth and allow West Platte to continue to improve.
Coach’s thoughts: “We've been really young the last couple of years, so a lot of these kids have been playing since they were freshmen or sophomores. To have them start to physically mature and they've gotten a lot bigger. They’ve made a lot of mistakes over the years and so seeing them understand kind of how it all comes together has been good.
2024 Schedule:
8/30 Polo
9/6 Mountain View-Liberty
9/13 @ Penney
9/20 @ Mid Buchanan
9/27 Father Tolton
10/4 Lawson
10/11 @ East Buchanan
10/18 @ Lathrop
10/25 North Platte
